>> welcome to the "journal" here on dw. >> here's what's coming up in the next half-hour -- as french troops to engage with rebels on the ground in mali, germany supplies transport for the mission. >> u.s. president barack obama unveils a draft for sweeping gun proposals to set the stage for the battleground with firearm activists. >> a helicopter crashes in

central london in heavy fog. >> the conflict in mali has seen a dramatic escalation with french troops now involved in heavy fighting with islamist rebels. international support for the intervention is growing with germany providing two military transport planes. >> the fighting threatens to spill over to other countries with islamists in algeria taking western hostages in response to the french deployments. we will have more on that later in the show, but first, the latest from mali. >> french armored vehicles headed north to the front line after setting out from the capital. another convoy had left tuesday from a town close to the offenses target, which fell into rebel hands two days ago.

french and malian troops have to retake the city as soon as they can. military chiefs have pledged 3300 soldiers to fight the rebels. germany has offered logistical support. >> this logistical support consists of making two of our cargo planes available to west african steps. we will have the state's -- help the state to bring their troops and equipment to bamako. >> this measure can begin without delay as soon as we clear up technical details on the ground. >> chancellor angela merkel, pmeanwhile, met with the president of ivory coast. he is also the current chairman of echoes. they agreed the situation is serious. >> i think we are under great time pressure here.

germany views security in the region as part of its own security. terror in northern mali is not threat to africa. it is a threat to europe as well. >> merkel realizes that a tough fight lies ahead for mali, and she says germany will consider requests for future support. france, for its part, plans to triple its current troop level. >> a short while ago, we spoke with someone from the german think tank the friedrich ebert foundation. she is in bamako. we asked what the situation was like there. >> the situation is calm, normal. everyday life continues. people go to work. they go shopping. however, there are, of course [indiscernible]

after the intervention on, cup. everyone is taking some precautions. there are more police. there is a higher police presence on the street. >> the french intervention has the full backing of the u.n. security council, but how do the people in mali feel about it? >> they are extremely grateful for an intervention because it came exactly at the moment when it was needed. they completely support it. for example, when you go downtown, -- these days, france is really the biggest friend of mali. >> the fighting in mali is

already having an impact in neighboring algeria. al qaeda deftly militants claim to be holding as many as 41 foreign hostages, many of them westerners, after attacking gas facilities in algeria. the u.s. has confirmed its nationals are among those being held. two people were reported killed when gunmen stormed a site. the gas facility near the libyan border is jointly run by bp, norwegians that oil, and the algerian government. washington now where president barack obama has unveiled sweeping gun proposals, setting the stage for a real showdown with gun rights activists. he said the legislation would help end what he called an epidemic of gun violence. >> obama urged congress to acquire universal background checks on gun buyers and to restore bans on the military- style assault weapons and high- capacity magazines. he also signed 23 executive orders that will take immediate

effect. the proposals were drafted by a task force led by vice president joe biden after 20 schoolchildren and six educators were slain at an elementary school in connecticut last month. >> for the latest on this, let's go live to our correspondent, standing by in washington. the president does not have the political backing he needs right now for the tough laws. what is his agenda, both in the house and in the senate? >> right. he needs to get the votes to pass in the congress. obviously. so he is trying to change the equation, trying to build up pressure on congress men and women, and the one thing they respond to this pressure from their voters. they are actually quite accessible for their voters, so barack obama has called upon voters to call their congress people and say that it is important to ban assault weapons, for example. he has done that before -- for example, for the fiscal cliff just a couple of weeks ago.

it has worked before. the other way he wants to build up pressure is by organizing this push for new laws, like a campaign with the money, the ads, and the whole machinery he used for his reelection to put more pressure, more power in this push. that is usually not the way to do it, but obviously, the traditional method of just negotiating is not working here. >> this new strategy -- will it have an impact on america's thinking about guns? just how divided the nation on this right now? >> probably the campaign itself, the way he is handling this will not really change people's mind. one thing obviously was the shooting in newtown just because it was so horrific and we could see changes in public opinion. for example, before, there was no majority for the banning of assault weapons, and now there is, all but it is a slight

majority. now the opponents of any kind of gun laws are digging in deeper. the national rifle association, the very powerful lobby, just released an ad that many experts say just went completely overboard in calling the president himself a hypocrite. you can see that if anything, the divide that was sort of cover-up because nobody wanted to touch a gun laws is getting more pronounced. >> thanks very much from washington. will the german economy continued to slow? more on that later in this program. >> first, here's a look at some other stories making news. >> russian court has denied a request for leniency from a member of the punk band pussy riot. one member has sought a deferral of her presence sentence until her 5-year-old son turns 14. she was convicted of hooliganism after a protest during services in moscow church. >> the taliban have claimed responsibility for a suicide

attack targeting the afghan intelligence agency. officials said two guards were killed when the bomber who blew up his car in front of the country's headquarters -- the interior ministry says security forces shot dead four other attackers. >> in iraq, more than 30 people have been killed in a series of attacks that appear to have targeted kurds. two car bombs exploded. one of them blew up outside a kurdish political party office. a third in a nearby town. >> the two biggest airlines have found their entire fleets of boeing 7873liner -- 787 dreamliners. >> it has been having problems for a while. that is the latest in a series of incidents raising real safety concerns. the decision means that half of

the global fleet is now temporarily out of service. >> 137 passengers and crew boarded a dreamliner, but a short time later, they found themselves sliding out of a nightmare. five of them were slightly injured in the emergency landing. >> the flight attendant's voice was quivering as the emergency landing was announced, so i realize the situation was pretty bad. >> this is the seventh safety incident involving a dreamline in a week and a half. two airlines have both grounded their fleets pending an investigation. ana's vice president made the traditional japanese apology and promised answers. >> once we know the cause and can guarantee safety and explain everything properly to our customers, we will restart operations with the planes. >> japan has taken delivery of

24 of the 50 new boeings sold so far. investigations into the safety of the aircraft are under way in japan and in the u.s. where the planes are made. boeing has spent huge amounts developing it, but the first models were delivered years late, said the company is cranking out planes to meet orders. some experts say the pace of production could be responsible for mounting problems. >> china's giant economy is back on a growth track according to a world bank report that forecast chinese growth at 8.4% this year. that after slowing to 8% in 2012. the world bank also says global growth will only come in at about 2.4%, a downward revision of predictions from last summer. the washington-space -- based lender says there is a growing gap between high-income and developing countries and developing countries remain the motors for global economic

progress. the german economy is in for a slow year according to the latest official forecast. angela merkel's government says the economy will grow by just 0.4% in 2013. that is less than half its previous forecast. >> and it is the latest in a bit disappointing news because data released on tuesday showed that the german economy contracted sharply in the last quarter, but the government insists it is still upbeat about the future. >> germany's economics minister has plenty of reasons to be happy with the country's business climate. unemployment figures remain in check, and the economy is growing, a claim not year of -- not many european nations can make these days. last year, german gdp expanded 5.8%. the economics ministry is expecting growth of only 0.4%, but government analysts predict 2014 will be better.

gdp is forecast to jump by 1.6%. policies to stabilize the economy in the face of the eurozone debt crisis are working. >> the outlook is so good part because the business community is regaining trust in the eurozone. all the indices show this, and not just investors, which you can see in the development of interest rates, but business people. it has become clear from discussions that companies want to invest. >> if and when they do, that will inject a fresh supply of cash into the system. germany's exports remain the backbone of the economy, keeping it afloat throughout the eurozone debt crisis. >> how to that news go down on the markets? our correspondence sent us this report from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> an advance of the government's forecast. many experts already said that

the upswing in germany may crawl down, but that the german economy will be able to avoid a recession. so the forecast of the government has not been a big surprise, but investors discussed here on the frankfurt floor if the financial crisis really made the over, like the world bank already said. one fact is clear -- the financial crisis seems to be over for more and more banks. today, goldman sachs and j.p. morgan reported results, and both banks earned money. profits rose. >> let's get a closer look at this trading numbers for you. not a lot going on in europe. in frankfurt, the dax was up by just about 0.24 -- 0.25%. over in new york, the dow jones industrial average is still trading, and it is lower. as for the euro against the

dollar, it is declining. >> when we come back after a short break, the small town in eastern germany that has declared war on the far right npd, as they try to gain a foothold there. >> that and more after the break. >> stay with us.

>> thanks for staying with us. >> welcome back. we begin with the story of a small town in eastern germany that has seen the far right npd party convince many residents to give it its support. some have organized to resist that. >> and they have been recognized by germany's jewish community. the group emerged to resist the influence of the neo-nazi npd. the npd set up major headquarters in the town several years ago.

>> the party quickly turned into a powerful force. here is a story of how locals who objected organized. >> pretty houses and clean streets. it looks idyllic, but appearances can deceive. there's no industry, and there are few jobs. many young people have moved away. yet, one group is moving in in increasing numbers -- right wing extremists from western germany. leaders of the far right npd party have chosen this is their new home. they have opened an office. at the last election, one in six voters cast ballots for the far right. >> it is nice that there somewhere for people to go, a place where they can get things off their chest. >> but many people oppose the presence of the npd. one is the mayor. she has started a civic group.

it all started seven years ago with a demonstration. >> the brown been for npd rubbish -- we carried one of those with us -- the brown bin. >> we want to show that we are a friendly, cosmopolitan little town, and we are not brown, right wing extremists. we are colorful and diverse. >> the npd tried to infiltrate a local sports club, but the extremists were prevented from gaining a foothold. m a three or four npd people were very active. they wanted to help, but if they get a foot in the door and a training group, that effectively makes them a trainer. and at that party office, the

npd offers advice to young people, including the unemployed. the message is -- we will look after you. it is not unusual to run into the deputy leader of the national npd party here. he was convicted of hate speech for describing germany as "a jewish republic." he owns several properties here. he is unfazed by the prize for those who won it. >> what they have started here with their heroic deeds and phrases is a continuation of that primitive concept known as anti-fascism, which has its roots in faded communist east germany. >> such insults are typical for the npd. in the youth club across the street, children are learning a different approach to life -- tolerance for other cultures, democracy, culture of their convictions. that is what the initiative is

about. working with children is especially important, to make sure they are not led astray by the extremists. >> and the government has also been working to ban the npd. for more, let's bring in our chief political correspondent. there have been repeated attempts to ban the npd. why have they failed? >> one thing is that free-speech laws set quite a high bar. there's a sense there's a real trade-off between free speech and any ban. another issue is the government's use of informers who are actually in the party. in the past, one attempt was turned down by germany's highest court, which said the government cannot simultaneously have informers in the npd helping make policy and also try to ban the party at the same time. the government has been cutting back on its use of informers, and now the upper chamber of parliament has said it does want to try for a band again in the next couple of months, so it

does remain an issue on the table, but as i say, with quite a high bar to succeed. >> why is it that eastern germany in particular is so attractive for groups like this? >> east germany does continue to have a weak economy, and high unemployment rate, particularly among young people, and as we saw in the peace, they often tell those young people they will take care of them. also, fewer immigrants in the east, therefore perhaps for some people there, greater suspicion of foreigners, so a number of different factors contributing. >> briefly, the price we heard about in our piece -- are they having any effect in eastern germany? >> certainly in the past year, there has been an effort -- a very great effort -- to call attention to the problem of right-wing violence and right wing prejudice, in part because there was a series of murders that came to light last year that had been going on for 10 years with impunity because many

people simply turned a blind eye, so i think initiatives like this certainly are very important to call people's attention to the problem. we have also seen the government making a much greater effort to focus attention and also to get government authorities to be working together to go on an offensive to combat this problem. >> thanks for the update. police say two people were killed and a number of people injured when a helicopter crashed during rush hour in central london. >> the helicopter went down after hitting a crane on top of a building in foggy conditions, crashing just south of the river thames. >> passers-by captured these images moments after the helicopter struck a construction crane and plunged to the ground. the crash site is near a railway station which was busy with commuters at the time. fire and rescue squads sailed

off the area under the damaged screen. >> we just heard an explosion. it sounded like a fighter plane. we thought it was a terrorist attack. >> police say they have no reason to suspect a terrorist attack, despite the crash -- despite the fact that the crash site is very close to the headquarters of britain's mi6 intelligence service. >> we've -- we believe a commercial helicopter and a scheduled flight has collided with a crane on top of a building under construction. the helicopter then came in on the side of the building. >> investigators are trying to figure out what caused the crash. one fact is already evident -- visibility over the city was limited by a thick morning fog at the time of the accident. >> germany and france are reviewing a half a century of close cooperation and

friendship established in a treaty would ceremonies to mark the 1963 signing set for next week. >> a survey conducted in both countries shows the partnership remains on firm ground, but there has also been a decline in the number of people learning their neighbors' language. >> young people are the future. that will be the message when the german and french parliament meet in berlin next week. lawmakers want to remind young people of their role in protecting and nurturing the franco-german alliance. >> the friendship between germany and france is not something we can take for granted. we must be filled with life by every generation, both by people and politicians in both countries. >> in january 1963, the german chancellor and french president signed the treaty, marking a new beginning, when it ended centuries of war, mistrust, and hostility and grew into an

unprecedented friendship, giving both countries strength and prosperity. >> where else on this globe are there so many partnerships between communities, cities, and regions? we have more than 2000 partnerships at the local level alone. where else in the world are so many people actively involved in partnership associations and friendship organizations? these people are the real bridge builders in german-french relations. >> even so, the number of students learning french or german as a second language is steadily falling, and language is key to fostering and understanding. 50 years of friendship notwithstanding, there remains much to be done. >> and football news now. bayern-munich have lined up a very big name to take over as coach. >> the former barcelona coach has spurned offers from the likes of chelsea and manchester

city in the english premier league to take the reins in munich. he has agreed to a contract that runs through 2016. with us now live in the studio for more on this is our sports correspondent. thanks so much for being with us. first off, this is certainly an exciting appointment. the choice is unbelievable, but with the current coach already taking the team to the title, was it necessary? >> yes, i think it was. he is 67, and his contract runs out in summer. he always looked like a short- term appointment. he does look like he will win the title this season, but last season, his team really came up short when it mattered, and i think that may change inevitable. >> guardiola was a popular

guy and did have a lot of suitors. is it a surprise he chose this team? >> yes, i think it is a surprise. normally when men city and chelsea come with their limitless checkbooks, reason goes up the window. i think it says a lot about the man, and it confirms the accord trajectory of the team because the whole world will be watching to see how it turns out. >> briefly it could, how is he going to get on? >> i think he will get on great. i think he just needs time. expectations are so big that there's no way he could live up to this immediately. the structure is in place for him to succeed. >> as ever, thanks so very much. and thank you for joining us here at dw. >> we will see you next time. >> bye bye. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--